Pill Boxes

The pill box is a small container designed to carry medicines or remedies on one's person, at a time when modern pharmacy did not yet exist. First appearing in the seventeenth century, these objects reached their apogee in the nineteenth century, a period during which silversmiths and enamellers vied with one another in virtuosity to transform them into true pieces of adornment. Victorian England, Second Empire France and Austro-Hungary were the principal centres of production, with makers such as Sampson Mordan & Co. in London, the Parisian workshops of the faubourg Saint-Antoine, and the Limoges manufactories for examples in painted porcelain.

Materials vary according to the standing of the piece: solid silver, vermeil, coloured gold, as well as cloisonné or champlevé enamel, porcelain, tortoiseshell and ivory for more accessible productions. The decorative schemes perfectly illustrate the aesthetic of their time — gallant scenes of Rococo inspiration, naturalistic floral motifs, miniature portraits or orientalising arabesques characteristic of the late century.

For a collector, several points of attention are essential. Hallmarks and maker's marks allow the origin and date of manufacture to be identified with precision; their legibility largely determines the value of the piece. The condition of the enamel or porcelain painting is critical, and any restoration must be disclosed and assessed with care. The opening mechanism — hinge, push-button or sliding — should function without excessive play or evidence of repair. An engraved signature or monogram adds a historical dimension without necessarily penalising the piece's value.